Too much protection bad

September 06, 2007

It's a shame. One by one, America's childhood games are being eliminated from schoolyards in a bizarre game of adult-style dodgeball known as overprotective political correctness. Last month, a Colorado Springs elementary school joined a growing number of schoolyards throughout the United States to ban the chasing game "tag." "Students will not be playing 'tag' or 'chase' on the playground," said a back-to-school letter dated Aug. 29 and signed by the school's administrator, Cindy Fesgen. Fesgen said the ban on tag is for the students' safety. Please. The decision is ridiculous. Especially considering the fact that a recently published study by the Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention, indicates that one-third of kids nationwide are currently overweight, and information from the news magazine U.S. News & World Report indicates the percentage of children who are obese has more than tripled since the 1970s. The message sent by banning the game "tag" is just flat out wrong. Some parents at the school are disgusted - and they should be. Others aren't - and why they wouldn't be is a mystery to us. "I think it's a fine decision," Melody Hatten, a mother of two children at the school, said. "I think there are a lot of other things they can do on recess that is more constructive." Like what? There are very few games children play that can't be considered dangerous - in one way or another. Let's consider some:

Tetherball (a game where children lob a ball connected to a tall pole by a rope) has been known to give inattentive players quite a wallop upside the head.

Kickball is another children's game that is not for the feint of heart. Kids can get smacked in the head, get the proverbial wind knocked out of them by catching a ball in the stomach and scrape or twist knees, elbows and hips by trying to make a base and score.

Football is all about tackling - even if it is just "touch" - which, by the way is what "tag" is supposed to be about.

Dodgeball (an elimination game already banned in a number of schools) is a game where kids divide into two teams and aim to eliminate members of the opposing team by nailing them with a rubber ball.

Red Rover is a game where kids divide up into two lines facing one another across a field or parking lot. One side calls over, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send *insert name here* right over." The lucky one called tries to run through the other team's line - likely getting clotheslined in the process - unless he or she is strong enough to break through the "enemy" line. Very few adults haven't played one or all of these games. Probably even fewer don't have at least some fond memories of doing so. Life is about learning to survive and thrive in all sorts of different situations and environments. The playground is one of those environments. Games are one way children learn about life. Plus, they are fun. And perhaps most important, they provide children some exercise. Sometimes children need to be protected. Sometimes they need to be supervised to ensure their play doesn't escalate out of control. Perhaps what is needed on the playground is not fewer childhood games, but more effective adult supervision.